Trauma,Meaning Making,and Loneliness in College Students

ABSTRACT

The present study (N = 621) explored relationships between meaning making (i.e., meaning presence and meaning search) and loneliness in college students who have experienced trauma. In addition, the study examined group differences in meaning variables and loneliness, comparing college students who have and have not experienced trauma. The results suggest that loneliness and meaning search are more present in college students who have experienced trauma. Further, meaning presence and meaning search both predict experiences of loneliness within this sample.     

Interpretation-Something New

Abstract

The ecological worldviews of 95 undergraduates were assessed via Blaikie's Ecological World View scale (1992). Positive ecological worldviews were associated with receptivity to arguments for preserving endangered species based on ethics and morality, the importance of a species to the ecosystem, and one's ability to make a difference; the type of organism that was endangered was not a factor in determining the effectiveness of a message. There was no relationship between ecological worldviews and receptivity to arguments on the basis of aesthetics or economics. Women had more positive ecological worldviews and found moral arguments to be more persuasive than did men.     

Diverse worldviews education and social inclusion: a comparison between Finnish and Australian approaches to build intercultural and interreligious understanding

ABSTRACT

Ongoing global issues relating to the decline of the popularity of institutional religions, the rise of numbers of non-religious persons, and new models of spirituality in superdiverse societies have resulted in the need to reconceptualise religious diversity as worldviews diversity, and to critically examine increasing calls for the provision of worldviews education in schools. This paper first examines the key concepts of superdiversity and religious complexity in contemporary societies. It then presents an overview of scholarship pertaining to the concepts of worldviews and worldviews education. It next provides case studies of worldview/s education in Finland and Australia, drawing on data of recently completed qualitative and quantitative studies in the two countries. Finally, it concludes with a comparative analysis of the two contexts, and recommendations pertaining to worldviews education as a means of enhancing cross-cultural literacy, positive attitudes to religious diversity and thereby social inclusion.     

Ideas about earthquakes after experiencing a natural disaster in Taiwan: An analysis of students' worldviews

On September 21st, 1999, the central part of Taiwan suffered an earthquake which was 7.3 on the Richter scale. This disaster provided a unique and rare opportunity to study students' worldviews. Science educators have proposed that students' worldviews influence their ways of interpreting natural phenomena and then impose an effect on conceptual development in science. The objective of this study was to explore students' worldviews as revealed by their ideas about the causality of earthquakes after experiencing the natural disaster. In Taiwan's socio-cultural milieu, there are some indigenous world-views about earthquakes including the perspectives of supernatural forces and myths. Through tracking the ideas of 60 fifth graders and sixth graders for eight months, this study showed that students tended to employ the following three major approaches to resolve the incongruence between indigenous worldviews and scientific worldviews. First, they may try to accept the scientific ideas and to abandon their original worldviews. Second, they may try to grasp the scientific views and at the same time try to keep the indigenous worldviews unchanged. Many students held a scientific/myths dual perspective about the causes of earthquakes. Finally, they may retain their original worldview and try to ignore the scientific worldview. This paper finally suggests that science educators need to integrate socio-cultural aspects of science and of learning science into science education research and practice.     

Learning together: a transdisciplinary approach to student–staff partnerships in higher education

ABSTRACT

Partnership in higher education has gained prominence over recent decades, but recent studies have identified a lack of research exploring how partnership practices unfold in specific disciplinary contexts. This article explores how a transdisciplinary approach can be used to better understand and facilitate student–staff partnerships where staff and students have diverse disciplinary backgrounds and knowledge. We present a case study of the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation at the University of Technology Sydney, focusing on the adaptation of our curriculum co-creation processes by drawing on multiple knowledge types through a reflexive process of mutual learning. We conclude that explicit consideration of these principles, which are common to both transdisciplinary and partnership frameworks, have the potential to enhance consideration of diverse perspectives and the roles played by worldviews, norms and values when building student–staff partnerships around curriculum co-creation.     

The narrative approach in research and its use for policy advice

ABSTRACT

Recent developments in Europe show that policymakers acknowledge the role of qualitative research in evidence building. A number of qualitative research studies, including narrative inquiry, have been contracted out to gather information into selected policy issues. The management of career transitions and lifelong learning has become a focus of research and policy interest in many countries. Based on the findings of two Cedefop studies, which included the collection of narrative interviews among mid-career adults in several European countries, this article argues in favour of narrative inquiry as a tool to inform policymakers and influences policies, for example in the field of career guidance and counselling and lifelong learning. A selection of narratives is provided as an example to show how unique situated knowledge within the context of mid-career adults’ life is influenced by existing policies or implies that policies need to be changed. By providing snapshots of the findings from these two studies and exemplify their informative value for policy, the article advocates for the usefulness of narrative inquiry. The presentation of qualitative data humanises the commonly found statistical representations of individuals’ life circumstances and enables imagination and meaning making.     

Later life learning experiences: listening to the voices of Chinese elders in Hong Kong

Abstract

Governments’ anxieties about ageing populations are mostly concerned with the costs of welfare, care and health provision which all have to be paid for by an ever dwindling working population. However, research in later life learning indicates the significant role that lifelong learning can play in promoting mental well-being and resilience, and in assisting with maintaining personal self-confidence and self-coping strategies that prevent cognitive decline in an ageing population. This paper draws on the research with a group of Chinese elders in Hong Kong, who provide information about their experiences and views on learning in later life, including the meaning of learning, barriers to participation, learning interests, needs, motivations, and instructional preferences. Both quantitative and qualitative findings are reported to shed light on later life learning experiences, which contribute to the global understanding of later life learning and serve to inform the development of policy and practice geared to the planning and provision of opportunities to keep learning at the later stages of life.     

Promoting Spiritual Development in the Curriculum

This paper asserts that the spiritual is rooted in the essence of being human. Human beings search for meaning, purpose and direction in life and spiritual development is inextricably linked with this process. The spiritual manifests itself in the feelings and emotions of human beings, as well as the values, beliefs, aspirations and intellect. Spiritual development in this sense must be holistic. The spiritual dimension of education must engage the body, mind and heart. Spiritual development implies change, with a progression from immaturity towards maturity, from the simple to the complex, from the superficial to the profound. In relation to this the writer discusses what spiritual education should involve and the contribution different aspects of the curriculum can make.     

Learning in Dialogue: An Exploration of Talk in an English Classroom

ABSTRACT

This essay explores the role of talk within the English classroom. Classroom talk (in its various forms) is not simply a method for sharing fixed systems of knowledge or information; it is the most useful mechanism for giving learners the space to develop new meanings and new ways of thinking about their surroundings. As soon as learners are offered the space to make meaning through talk – in productive dialogue with those around – they are provided, not only with an opportunity to explore their ideas, but also with a chance to actively represent and reflect on their place within the wider world. For this essay, I draw on my experiences of teaching a small class of 14- and 15-year-olds and their work on An Inspector Calls.     

Between hope and despair: Teacher education in the age of Trump

Abstract

We are teacher educators trying to recalibrate to the world of Trump. As we search to find our new bearings, we recognize that the markers of meaning that we relied on (such as civility and truth) have been washed away, and we must now redefine how to create meaning in our work, and hope in our worlds. In this article, we combine examples of student interactions from our classes with inner dialogue to chronicle our search for hope. Working in the context of the US South, we highlight how drawing from critical theory allowed us to reach for moments of hope in dark times.     

Action research improves services for child sexual abuse in one Caribbean nation: An example of good practice

BackgroundChild sexual abuse (CSA) is a multi-dimensional problem. The search for best practice must consider the complexities surrounding CSA and its management in any particular society.ObjectiveData previously gathered from service providers on CSA service provision in Trinidad and Tobago identified key deficient issues in policy and practice. In this paper, researchers aimed to bridge the gaps identified, and effect changes to improve services for CSA using an action research methodology.Participants and settingService providers from all sectors in governmental and non-governmental organizations in Trinidad and Tobago, who work with children at risk of CSA were involved in the process.MethodsResearchers led the service providers into an awareness of their own practice through critical discussion of, and reflection on, the key deficient issues. The new knowledge generated, with guided input from evidenced-based best practice, led to the development of guidelines for management. Discussion of the practicability of the guidelines by service providers in multiple sectors generated more new knowledge that refined the management approach.ResultsThe contextual knowledge obtained from service providers resulted in best practice guidelines for service providers that were culturally relevant and context-sensitive, adaptive and implementable, and allowed a seamless multidisciplinary response to CSA in Trinidad and Tobago within prevailing constraints.ConclusionsAction research offers an effective approach to improve services for CSA through mobilization of service providers and changes in policy and practice. It is applicable in any setting and likely to be effective in any socio-cultural context.     

The Spiritual Quest amid Loneliness,Depression, and Disability: Reflections on The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

John Green's best-selling The Fault in Our Stars (2012) recounts two teenagers' quest for meaning in the face of loneliness, depression, disability, and loss, all intensified by a cancer diagnosis. Green uses secondary characters to present three common worldviews: existentialism, Christianity, and Buddhist mindfulness. The author analyzes these three characters (and the ideas they embody), arguing that Green misrepresents Christianity as a flat unreflective, domesticated “Christianity Lite.” Four insights (with resources) are provided to foster deeper spirituality, especially from an authentic Christian perspective: intimate relationships; varied approaches to prayer when coping with heartache; respectful discussion of the purpose of human life; and access to the wisdom of the past.     

Toward a Wonderland of comparative education

ABSTRACT

The publication of Noah & Eckstein's Toward a Science of Comparative Education (1969, Macmillan, NY) marked the beginning of an increasingly narrow research trajectory in comparative education, claiming a universality for Western knowledge and privileging scientific rationality in research. Juxtaposing the ‘science’ to Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, such comparative education relegated more-than-human worlds and spiritual domains of learning – and being – to our collective pasts, personal childhood memories, or imaginations. How can we reorient and attune ourselves toward a Wonder(land), rather than a Science of comparative education exclusively, opening spaces for multiple ways of making sense of the world, and multiple ways of being? How can we reanimate our capacity toengage with a more-than-human world? Based on the analysis of children’s literature and textbooks published during various historical periods in Latvia, this article follows the white rabbit to reexamine taken-for-granted dichotomies – nature and culture, time and space, self and other – by bringing the ‘pagan’ worldviews or nature-centred spiritualities more clearly into focus, while reimagining education and childhood beyond the Western horizon.     

RELIGIOUS PARTICULARISM AND CULTURAL PLURALISM: THE POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TO CANADIAN POLITICAL IDENTITY

Abstract

Multiculturalism is official Canadian policy. In the context of postmodernism, pluralism has taken on a sharper meaning, particularly with regard to identity. What can possibly unify a diverse nation like Canada? Does the separation of religion from public life make sense when cultural identity includes religious expression? Political unity, religious diversity, and the common search for and establishment of justice could become the essential building blocks toward an integral political unity. In particular, the celebration of religious diversity in Canada's schools could become a primary means of political unity as well as an essential means of unifying society. Five convictions are developed which help secure a new relationship among religious education, religious diversity, and political and societal unity.     

Promoting a participatory convergence in a Spanish context: an inter-university action research project using visual narrative

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the deconstruction of an inter-university action research project that has allowed us to rethink our teaching and research, questioning the social, political and ethical dimensions of the university. Following the pre-assembly proposal to promote participatory convergence, organized within the framework of the 1^st Global Assembly for Knowledge Democracy (2017), an action research process was implemented in order to generate systematic inquiry around the current situation of the university and the need to act and rethink our commitment to promoting changes in this context. We have reflected on the meaning of democratization, rethinking the pedagogical relationship with our students and how we critically commit them to promote activism. We generated an environment where we look for the meaning of our practices by means of a visual narrative which has enabled us to weave and identify our own biography and become aware of where we are and why we act in one way or another. We have also focused on the search for the meaning of our actions in relation to the community we belong to and how to deal with the challenges of social justice, encouraging collaboration with other networks in a wider inter-university framework.     

Reflective thinking and education for the gifted

Using the questions posed by a gifted twelfth grade girl during on American History class, this article defines the nature of reflective thinking as a search for meaning that involves both imaginative as well as critical, logical thought processes. Such thinking is essentially poetic in nature. The author concludes by drawing implications for the education of gifted persons.     

Gender and sexuality in young children's perspectives of AIDS

Abstract

Responses to AIDS have often neglected children. Drawing on a qualitative study of young children aged 7–9 years, this paper draws attention to their understandings of HIV and AIDS. It is argued that young children are able to give meaning to the disease in ways that link to their social contexts, where gender inequalities and sexual violence are common. Sexuality is a key dimension through which they express knowledge of the disease. Young children do know the links between sex and AIDS, and connect vulnerability to the disease in gendered ways. To address the missing voices of young children requires coordinated efforts, requiring systemic responses which support teachers in initiatives to address taboo subjects like sexuality, as well as the pervasive poverty in which the children in our study are located.     

“I have chosen another way of thinking”

The article builds upon a study where students’ relations to science are related to their worldviews and the kind of worldviews they associate with science. The aim of the study is to deepen our knowledge of how worldview and students’ ways to handle conflicts between their own worldview and the worldview they associate with science, can add to our understanding of students’ relations to science. Data consists of students’ responses to a questionnaire (N = 47) and to interviews (N = 26). The study shows that for students who have a high ability in science, those who have taken science-intense programmes in upper secondary school to a higher extent than others have worldviews in accordance with the worldviews they associate with science. This indicates that students who embrace a worldview different from the one they associate with science tend to exclude themselves from science/technology programmes in Swedish upper secondary school. In the article the results are presented through case studies of single individuals. Those students’ reasoning is related to the results for the whole student group. Implications for science teaching and for further research are discussed.     

Singapore international education hub and its dilemmas: the challenges and makings for cosmopolitan learning

ABSTRACT

Higher education in Asia is massifying at an exceptional pace and scale. In this paper, I ask how practices and discourses which inform the internationalization of Singapore’s higher education can provide opportunities for developing cosmopolitan learning that it claims to provide. Cosmopolitan learning is closely related to cross-border student mobility and plays an important role in shaping the international students’ identities, aspirations and worldviews. Based on a recent study in Singapore of a group of international students from various parts of Asia and Europe, this paper attempts to bring the theoretical and grounded realities of cosmopolitan learning in an Asian context into the fore. The aim of the paper is to provide a useful frame for rethinking the purpose of international education for cosmopolitan learning in an increasingly interconnected world that is strewn with ambivalence, and what that means in the context of Singapore as an erudite nation-state critical to building Asian education hub aspirations.